Now, in collaboration with Nissan, the team has announced the car and driver is the next frontier.

"The idea is to blend driver and vehicle intelligence together in such a way that eliminates conflict between them, leading to a safer motoring environment," Jose del Millan, who the EPFL researcher leading the project, said in a media statement.

The system will measure brain activity, eye movement patterns, and the environment around the car to predict what the driver plans to do — such as turn left or change lanes to pass a slowpoke — and then help the driver make the move.

As computing power increases exponentially, the ways we relate to computers become more natural — and more ubiquitous. Msnbc.com's Wilson Rothman explores the evolution of interfaces, from primitive punch cards to interactive buildings.